Focusing methods and apparatuses, and photographing devices

ABSTRACT

The present application discloses various focusing methods and apparatuses, and various photographing devices. The focusing method includes: controlling deformation of an image sensor so that reference points of at least two imaging sub-areas of the image sensor after the deformation form a first relative position relationship in a staggered arrangement along a depth direction; acquiring contrast data of a sampling image of an object in the at least two imaging sub-areas; and determining and/or adjusting, according to at least the first relative position relationship and the contrast data, a focusing state of the image sensor. The present application can improve a speed and/or accuracy for determining and/or adjusting the focusing state of the image sensor.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present international patent cooperative treaty (PCT) applicationclaims the benefit of priority to Chinese Patent Application No.201510131892.3, filed on Mar. 24, 2015, and entitled “Focusing Methodsand Apparatuses, and Photographing Devices”, which is incorporated intothe present international PCT application by reference herein in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the field of terminal technologies,and in particular, to various focusing methods and apparatuses, andvarious photographing devices.

BACKGROUND

Contrast detection focusing technology is one of widely used passiveauto focus technologies at present. The principle of the contrastdetection focusing technology is that, according to a contrast datachange of sampling images at different focus depth positions of aphotographing device, a focus depth position corresponding to themaximum contrast data is taken as the optimal focus depth position, thatis, a in focus depth position.

For example, when a contrast of the sampling image is used as contrastdata, a contrast detection focus process is usually as follows: move afocusing lens along a depth direction; with the movement of the focusinglens, a sampling image acquired at an imaging plane of an image sensorgradually becomes clear and the contrast gradually increases as well;when the sampling image is the clearest, and the contrast is thehighest, the imaging plane of the image sensor is at the in focus depthposition, which, however, is not known by a photographing device; thephotographing device continues to move the lens along the depthdirection; when the contrast of the sampling image is found to decrease,it is determined that the photographing device misses the in focus depthposition, so the lens is moved in a reverse direction. Such anadjustment is repeated many times, until a position of the imaging planeof the image sensor approaches or coincides with the in focus depthposition to the maximum extent. It may be seen that the foregoingcontrast detection focus process needs multiple times of “missing” thein focus depth position to achieve auto focus, and a focusing speed iscomparatively low.

SUMMARY

A brief summary about the present application is given hereinafter, soas to provide a basic understanding about certain aspects of the presentapplication. It should be understood that the summary is not anexhaustive summary about the present application. It is neither intendedto determine critical or important parts of the present application, norintended to limit the scope of the present application. Its purpose ismerely giving some concepts in a simplified form, to be taken as thepreamble to be described later in more detail.

Embodiments of the present application provide various focusing methodsand apparatuses, and various photographing devices.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present applicationprovides a focusing method, including:

controlling deformation of an image sensor so that reference points ofat least two imaging sub-areas of the image sensor after the deformationform a first relative position relationship in a staggered arrangementalong a depth direction;

acquiring contrast data of a sampling image of an object in the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas; and

determining and/or adjusting, according to at least the first relativeposition relationship and the contrast data, a focusing state of theimage sensor.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present applicationfurther provides a focusing apparatus, including:

a deformation control module, configured to control deformation of animage sensor so that reference points of at least two imaging sub-areasof the image sensor after the deformation form a first relative positionrelationship in a staggered arrangement along a depth direction;

a contrast data acquiring module, configured to acquire contrast data ofa sampling image of an object in the at least two imaging sub-areas; and

a processing module, configured to determine and/or adjust, according toat least the first relative position relationship and the contrast data,a focusing state of the image sensor.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present applicationfurther provides a photographing device, including: a photographingoptical system, a deformable image sensor and any focusing apparatusprovided by embodiments of the present application.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the presentapplication make full use of the deformable property of an image sensor,and control deformation of the image sensor to make reference points ofat least two imaging sub-areas to form a first relative positionrelationship in a staggered arrangement along a depth direction. Thefirst relative position relationship and the contrast data of thesampling image separately formed in the at least two imaging sub-areasare used as a basis for determining and/or adjusting a focusing state ofthe image sensor, that is, a change trend of the contrast data of the atleast two imaging sub-areas acquired by the photographing device at afocus depth along the depth direction may be determined. According tothe change trend, an accuracy for determining the focusing state of theimage sensor may be improved, and/or, according to the change trend,determination of focusing parameters, such as an adjusting direction andan adjusting step of the focusing state of the image sensor, may beimproved, so that a speed and/or accuracy for adjusting the focusingstate of the image sensor may be improved. By adopting the technicalsolutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, timesfor adjusting the focusing state needed by an adjustment process of thefocusing state may be reduced, and/or the in focus depth position mayapproach closer to or coincide with a target in focus depth positionafter the adjustment. In addition, an axis direction of the image sensorin the embodiments of the present application does not change, and keepsperpendicular to the depth direction. The deformation of a surface shapeof the image sensor is recoverable, and deformation recover control iseasy and convenient, and does not need complicated steps, so that theimaging plane of the image sensor may recover to an original shape,which is beneficial to imaging control and image acquisition of anobject after the focusing state is adjusted.

These and other advantages of the present application are more obviouswith reference to optional embodiments of the present applicationdescribed below in detail in combination with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present application can be better understood with reference to thedescription given below in combination with the accompanying drawings,in which the same or similar reference signs are used in all thedrawings to indicate the same or similar components. The drawingstogether with the following detailed description are comprised in thespecification and form a part of the specification, and are configuredto further exemplify alternative embodiments of the present applicationand explain the principle and advantages of the present application. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1a is a flowchart of a focusing method provided by an embodiment ofthe present application;

FIG. 1b is an example of a flexible image sensor provided by anembodiment of the present application;

FIG. 1c is an example of an image sensor having multiple imagingsub-areas in an array distribution provided by an embodiment of thepresent application;

FIG. 2a to FIG. 2d show an example of utilizing an embodiment of thepresent application;

FIG. 3 is an example of a focus area provided by an embodiment of thepresent application;

FIG. 4a to FIG. 4d show another example of utilizing an embodiment ofthe present application;

FIG. 5 is a logic block diagram of a first focusing apparatus providedby an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a logic block diagram of a processing module provided by anembodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a logic block diagram of a second focusing apparatus providedby an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a third focusing apparatusprovided by an embodiment of the present application; and

FIG. 9 is a logic block diagram of a photographing device provided by anembodiment of the present application.

Persons skilled in the art should understand that components in theaccompanying drawings are shown merely for simpleness and clearness, andare not always drawn to scale. For example, sizes of some components maybe amplified relative to other components, so as to facilitate enhancingthe understanding of embodiments of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present application are described below indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the sake ofclarity and simplicity, not all the features of actual implementationsare described in the specification. However, it should be understoodthat, lots of decisions specific to implementations must be made duringdevelopment of any such actual embodiment, so as to achieve specificgoals of developers, for example, restrictions relevant to systems andservices are met, and the restrictions may vary with differentimplementations. In addition, it should also be understood that,although development work is likely to be very complicated andtime-consuming, for those skilled in the art who benefit from thedisclosure, the development work is merely a routine task.

Herein, it should also be noted that, in order to avoid blurring thepresent application due to unnecessary details, only apparatusstructures and/or processing steps closely related to solutionsaccording to the present application are described in the accompanyingdrawings and the specification, but representation and description aboutmembers and processing having little to do with the present applicationand known to those of ordinary skill in the art are omitted.

Specific implementation manners of the present application are furtherdescribed below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings(in which like elements are denoted by like reference numerals) andembodiments. The following embodiments are used for describing thepresent application, but are not intended to limit the scope of thepresent application.

A person skilled in the art may understand that the terms such as“first” and “second” in the present application are used only todifferentiate different steps, devices, modules, or the like, andneither represent any specific technical meaning, nor indicate anylogical relationship between the terms.

FIG. 1a is a flowchart of a focusing method provided by an embodiment ofthe present application. The focusing method provided by the embodimentof the present application may be executed by a focusing apparatus. Thetype of the focusing apparatus is not limited, for example, the focusingapparatus may be an independent part; or, the focusing apparatus may beintegrated in a photographing device as a functional module. Thephotographing device may include, but is not limited to, a camera, avideo camera, a mobile phone, a tablet, and an electronic device havinga function of photographing or video shooting, which is not limited inthe embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1a , afocusing method provided by the embodiment of the present applicationincludes:

S101: Control deformation of an image sensor so that reference points ofat least two imaging sub-areas of the image sensor after the deformationform a first relative position relationship in a staggered arrangementalong a depth direction.

A surface shape of the image sensor described in the embodiment of thepresent application is deformable. For example, at least a part of thesurface shape of the imaging plane of the image sensor may change, andthe specific structure and form of components of the image sensor arenot limited.

For example, the image sensor may be a flexible image sensor, which hasalready been applied in some photographing devices. The flexible imagesensor may be curved to a certain degree by an external force in thepresent application, as shown in FIG. 1b , which changes projections ofthe reference points of the at least two imaging sub-areas of theflexible image sensor in a depth direction, so that the reference pointsof the at least two imaging sub-areas form a relative positionrelationship in a staggered arrangement along the depth direction, thatis, a first relative position relationship.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1c , the image sensor may include multipleimaging sub-areas in an array distribution. The at least two imagingsub-areas are connected by a deformable connection component, such as anelastic component or a controlled deformable material component (forexample, a photo deformable material component, a magnetic deformablematerial component, a piezoelectric material component, and the like),to form the whole imaging plane. By controlling the deformation of thedeformable connection component, the first relative positionrelationship may be controlled to be formed in the depth directionbetween the at least two imaging sub-areas. The external force or anexternal field is applied on the connection component in the presentapplication, so that the corresponding imaging sub-areas are driven tomove along the depth direction, that is, move relative to a referenceposition of the whole original imaging plane of the image sensor alongthe depth direction to protrude or concave from the imaging plane, sothat projection positions of the reference points of the at least twoimaging sub-areas in the depth direction are different, thereby formingthe relative position relationship in a staggered arrangement along thedepth direction, that is, the first relative position relationship.

It may be understood that, according to the need of an actualapplication, the foregoing imaging sub-areas in the array distributionand the flexible image sensor may also be used in combination to form adeformable image sensor.

Any one of the imaging sub-areas may include at least one image sensorpixel point. In an actual application, according to the need of theactual application, any point in an imaging sub-area may be taken as areference point of this imaging sub-area. For example, a central pointof the imaging sub-area or one point between the center and an edge istaken as the reference point, to facilitate comparison between therelative positions of different imaging sub-areas in the depthdirection.

S102: Acquire contrast data of the sampling image formed by an object inthe at least two imaging sub-areas.

When elements in the photographing device, such as a photographingoptical system and the image sensor, are at one focus position, theimaging plane of the image sensor may receive light of the object toacquire the sampling image. The contrast data of the sampling imageseparately formed in the at least two imaging sub-areas of the imagesensor may include, but is not limited to, contrast data or sharpnessdata of the sampling image separately formed in the at least two imagingsub-areas.

S103: Determine and/or adjust, according to at least the first relativeposition relationship and the contrast data, a focusing state of theimage sensor.

The photographing device usually has an ideal in focus position in orderto acquire a clear image of the object, and the ideal in focus positionmay be referred to as a target in focus depth position. In an auto focusprocess, the target in focus depth position usually is unknowable inadvance, and the target in focus depth position may be acquired throughslow convergence in the focusing process. However, limited by factorssuch as adjustment accuracy and an optical system limit, sometimes thetarget in focus depth position may not be reached precisely in theactual focusing and adjusting process. Therefore, in the actualadjusting process, the target in focus depth position may be approachedto the maximum extent. If times of focusing and adjusting reach themaximum times for adjusting, or a focus error after the adjustment is inan allowable range, or the like, then it is determined that the focusingis completed.

In a conventional contrast detection focusing process, the imaging planeof the image sensor is usually perpendicular to the depth direction,especially in an initial adjustment (first-time adjustment) phase.According to the contrast data of the sampling image acquired by thephotographing device in a single depth focus position, the focusingstate of the image sensor is difficult to be determined. For example, itis difficult to determine whether the current depth position of theimaging plane of the image sensor in the photographing device is theoptimal focus depth position or meets a focusing requirement of thefocus; or the relative position relationship between the current depthposition of the imaging plane of the image sensor in the photographingdevice and the target in focus depth position cannot be determined.Therefore, it cannot be determined whether the focusing state of thephotographing device needs to be adjusted; or an adjusting direction ofthe focusing state of the photographing device cannot be determined (forexample, it is not known whether a lens position should be adjusted tobe moved forward or backward along the depth direction). In this case,the focus depth position of the photographing device needs to bechanged, for example, the lens is moved forward or backward one stepalong the depth direction, and then the contrast data of the samplingimage is acquired. If a difference of the contrast of the samplingimages at the two focus depth positions is positive, it indicates thatthe adjustment direction of the lens is correct this time, and the lensis moved toward the direction in which the contrast is the greatest. Ifa difference of the contrast of the sampling images at the two focusdepth positions is negative, it indicates that the adjustment directionof the lens is reverse, and the focus depth position needs to beadjusted in an opposite direction. Through such adjustment repeated formany times, the depth position of the imaging plane of the image sensorapproaches or coincides with the target in focus depth position to themaximum extent. Apparently, the focusing speed is slow.

The technical solution provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication makes full use of the deformable property of the imagesensor, and controls deformation of the image sensor to make referencepoints of the at least two imaging sub-areas form a first relativeposition relationship in a staggered arrangement along the depthdirection. The first relative position relationship and the contrastdata of a sampling image separately formed in the at least two imagingsub-areas are used as a basis for determining and/or adjusting afocusing state of the image sensor, that is, a change trend of thecontrast data of the at least two imaging sub-areas acquired by thephotographing device at a focus depth along the depth direction may bedetermined. According to the change trend, an accuracy for determiningthe focusing state of the image sensor may be improved, and/or,according to the change trend, determination of focusing parameters,such as an adjusting direction and an adjusting step of the focusingstate of the image sensor, may be improved, so that a speed and/oraccuracy for adjusting the focusing state of the image sensor may beimproved. By adopting the technical solution provided by the embodimentof the present application, times for adjusting the focusing stateneeded by an adjustment process of the focusing state may be reduced,for example, in some cases, 1 to 4 times adjustment of the focusingstate may complete the focusing, and/or, may make the in focus depthposition be closer to or coincide with the target in focus depthposition after the adjustment. In addition, an axis direction of theimage sensor in the embodiment of the present application does notchange, and keeps perpendicular to the depth direction. The deformationof a surface shape of the image sensor is recoverable, and deformationrecover control is easy and convenient, and does not need complicatedsteps, so that the imaging plane of the image sensor may recover to anoriginal shape, which is beneficial to imaging control and imageacquisition of an object after the focusing state is adjusted.

In the description of the present application, the description involving“and/or” represents three situations, for example, A and/or B includesthe situation of A, the situation of B, and the situation of A and B. Tobe specific, determining and/or adjusting the focusing state of theimage sensor includes three situations. The first situation isdetermining the focusing state of the image sensor. For example,according to at least the first relative position relationship and thecontrast data of the respective sampling images of the at least twoimaging sub-areas, it is determined whether the current position of theimage sensor is a preferred focus position. The second situation isadjusting the focusing state of the image sensor. For example, accordingto at least the first relative position relationship and the contrastdata of the respective sampling images of the at least two imagingsub-areas, a direction and step of adjustment of the lens of thephotographing device are determined to adjust a difference between thedepth position of the image sensor and the target in focus depthposition. The third situation is determining the focusing state of theimage sensor and adjusting the focusing state of the image sensor. Forexample, it is determined that the current position of the image sensoris not a preferred focus position, and the focusing state is adjusted.

Optionally, the according to at least the first relative positionrelationship and the contrast data, determining and/or adjusting thefocusing state of the image sensor includes: determining, according toat least the first relative position relationship and the contrast data,second relative position information, which is in the depth direction,of depth scopes that correspond to the at least two imaging areasrelative to a target in focus depth position that corresponds to theobject; and determining and/or adjusting, according to at least thesecond relative position information, the focusing state of the imagesensor. The solution takes the depth scopes corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas as an integral whole, and combines with thecontrast data of the sampling images corresponding to the at least twoimaging sub-areas, for example, combines with a change trend of thecontrast data of the respective sampling images of the at least twoimaging sub-areas, and determines and/or adjusts the focusing state ofthe image sensor, thereby improving a speed and/or accuracy fordetermining and/or adjusting the focusing state of the image sensor.

The manner for determining the second relative position information isvery flexible.

Optionally, in response to that the contrast data corresponding to theat least two imaging sub-areas shows a unidirectional change trend, itis determined that the target in focus depth position is out of thedepth scopes corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas. In thesolution, according to that the contrast data corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas shows the unidirectional change trend, thechange trend of the contrast data of other imaging sub-areas with thechange of the depth is known. For example, the contrast data decreaseswith the increase of the depth, or the contrast data increases with theincrease of the depth; therefore it is determined that the target infocus depth position is not at the depth scopes corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas, but is out of the depth scopes. In thiscase, if the focusing state of the image sensor needs to be adjusted,the adjustment direction may be determined, and the depth scope may beused as a setting basis of the focusing parameters, such as theadjustment of the step, thereby improving the speed and/or accuracy foradjusting the focusing state.

The unidirectional change trend indicates the contrast data respectivelycorresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas, and progressivelyincreases in sequence with the increase of the depth, or progressivelydecreases in sequence with the increase of the depth. For example, inresponse to that the contrast data corresponding to the at least twoimaging sub-areas shows a first unidirectional change trend matching thefirst relative position relationship, it is determined that the targetin focus depth position is located in a depth position behind the depthscopes corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas. For example,in response to that the contrast data corresponding to the at least twoimaging sub-areas shows a second unidirectional change trend opposite tothe first relative position relationship, it is determined that thetarget in focus depth position is at a depth position in front of thedepth scopes corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas. Theforegoing solution may improve the accuracy for determining the relativeposition of the target in focus depth position, thereby helping toimprove the speed and/or accuracy for determining and/or adjusting thefocusing state of the image sensor.

Optionally, in response to that the contrast data corresponding to theat least two imaging sub-areas shows a non-unidirectional change trend,it is determined that the target in focus depth position is between thedepth scopes corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas. In thesolution, according to that the contrast data corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas shows a non-unidirectional change trend, itmay be known that a depth position in the depth scope of the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas is the target in focus depth position. In thiscase, if the depth scope meets a preset requirement for the focusaccuracy, it may be determined that the image sensor is in an infocusing state; and if the focusing state of the image sensor needs tobe adjusted, the depth scope may be taken as a setting basis of thefocusing parameters, such as the adjustment of the step (for example,the step is adjusted to be smaller than the depth scope), therebyimproving the speed and/or accuracy of adjusting the focusing state. Thenon-unidirectional change trend indicates that, with the direction inwhich the depth progressively increases or decreases, the contrast datacorresponding to the depth scope does not progressively increase ordecrease correspondingly, but shows a fluctuant change relationship orhorizontal change relationship similar to a curve with inflectionpoints.

After the second relative position information is determined, accordingto at least the second relative position information, the focusing stateof the image sensor may be determined and/or adjusted. The adjustment ofthe focusing state of the image sensor may include: according to atleast the second relative position information, adjusting the focusingparameters of the photographing device including the image sensor sothat the image plane of the image sensor approaches or coincides withthe target in focus depth position after the focusing parameters areadjusted. The focusing parameters of the photographing device mayinclude, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: aposition (for example, a lens position), focal length of a lens, aposition of the image sensor, and the adjustment step of thephotographing optical system in the photographing device. This solutionimplements the adjustment of the focusing state in combination with thesecond relative position information, to make the adjustment of thefocusing state more targeted and directional, and even if in an initialadjustment phase of an adjustment process of the focusing state, blindlytentative adjustment can also be avoided, thereby improving the speedand/or accuracy for determining and/or adjusting the focusing state.

FIG. 2a to FIG. 2d are used as an example for further description. As anexample, the surface shape of the image sensor after the deformation isshown in the FIG. 2a . The reference points of the two imaging sub-areasof the image sensor form a relative position relationship in a staggeredarrangement along a depth direction. The depth position relationship ofthe two imaging sub-areas and a contrast change trend in the depth scopemay be taken as a basis for determining and/or adjusting the focusingstate of the image sensor. In the drawing, a direction of an arrow in avertical coordinate represents a direction in which the contrastincreases, and a direction of an arrow in a horizontal coordinaterepresents a direction in which the depth increases. A larger depthindicates that the position of the photographing device is far away froman object. On the contrary, a smaller depth indicates that the positionof the photographing device is far away from the shooting subject. Thetarget in focus depth position is a position where the sampling imagehas the highest contrast (that is, the depth position corresponding tothe highest point of the curve).

In an optional example shown in FIG. 2b , the depth position coordinatesof the imaging sub-areas A1 and A2 progressively increase (a1<a2), andthe contrast corresponding to the depth scopes a1 to a2 increasesprogressively with the increase of the depth. That is, the contrast datacorresponding to the imaging sub-areas A1 and A2 shows a firstunidirectional change trend matching the first relative positionrelationship of the imaging sub-areas A1 and A2 in the depth direction.In this case, it may be determined that the target in focus depthposition is at a depth position behind the depth scope (greater thana2). If the focusing state of the image sensor needs to be adjusted, thephotographing device needs to be adjusted along a direction in which thedepth position coordinate corresponding to the position of the imagesensor after the adjustment is greater than a2.

In an optional example shown in FIG. 2c , the depth position coordinatesof the imaging sub-areas A1 and A2 progressively increase (a1<a2), andthe contrast data corresponding to the depth scopes a1 to a2progressively increases with the increase of the depth. That is, thecontrast data corresponding to the imaging sub-areas A1 and A2 shows asecond unidirectional change trend opposite to the first relativeposition relationship of the imaging sub-areas A1 and A2 in the depthdirection. In this case, it may be determined that the target in focusdepth position is at a depth position in front of the depth scope (lessthan a1). If the focusing state of the image sensor needs to beadjusted, the photographing device needs to be adjusted along thedirection in which the depth position coordinate corresponding to theposition of the image sensor after the adjustment is less than a1.

In an optional example as shown in FIG. 2d , the depth positioncoordinates of the imaging sub-areas A1 and A2 progressively increase(a1<a2), and the contrast data corresponding to the depth scopes a1 toa2 shows a trend that increases firstly and then decreases. That is, thecontrast data corresponding to the imaging sub-areas A1 and A2 shows anon-unidirectional change trend. In this case, it may be determined thatthe target in focus depth position is at a depth position between thedepth scopes a1 and a2. If the focusing state of the image sensor needsto adjusted, the photographing device needs to be adjusted by step alongthe direction in which the depth position coordinate corresponding tothe position of the image sensor after the adjustment is between a1 anda2.

It may be seen that, when the technical solution provided by theembodiment of the present application is adopted, the focusing state maybe determined and/or adjusted in a more aimed and efficient manner,which facilitates faster and more accurate auto focus.

On the basis of any one of the technical solutions provided by theembodiments of the present application, optionally, before controllingdeformation of the image sensor, the focusing method further includes:determining a deformation degree of the image sensor. Maximumdeformation along the depth direction of the at least two imagingsub-areas corresponding to an initial adjustment phase of the adjustmentprocess of the focusing state is greater than maximum deformation alongthe depth direction of the at least two imaging sub-areas correspondingto other phases of the adjustment process of the focusing state. Thatis, the adjustment process of the focusing state may include one or moretimes of focusing, and each time the focusing may be implemented byusing any one of the focusing methods provided by the embodiment of thepresent application to improve the speed and/or accuracy for determiningand/or adjusting the focusing state. Corresponding to the differentphases of the adjustment process of the focusing state, the deformationdegree of the image sensor may be not the same. The adjustment processof the focusing state usually may include the initial adjustment phase(performing the first-time adjustment), an intermediate phase and aconvergence phase (for example, performing the last time adjustment orlast several times of adjustment), and the maximum deformation of theimage sensor may be determined in an aimed manner corresponding to thedifferent phases. For example, the maximum deformation is determined inthe initial adjustment phase, while the maximum deformation in otherphases is less than the maximum deformation in the initial adjustmentphase, so that the maximum deformation of the image sensor changes fromlarge to small at least once along with the initial adjustment processof the focusing state, which is equivalent to comparing the depth scopethat decreases gradually as a whole with the corresponding contrastdata, so as to improve the convergence efficiency, and determine and/oradjust the focusing state more quickly and more accurately. Optionally,from the initial adjustment phase to the convergence phase of theadjustment process of the focusing state, the maximum deformation alongthe depth direction of the at least two imaging sub-areas correspondingto the phases progressively decreases in sequence. This solution furtherimproves the convergence efficiency, and can determine and/or adjust thefocusing state more quickly and more accurately.

On the basis of any one of the technical solutions provided by theembodiments of the present application, optionally, before controllingthe deformation of the image sensor, the focusing method furtherincludes: determining, according to a preview image of an object, afocus area; and determining, according to the focus area, the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas, where the at least two imaging sub-areasrespectively correspond to at least two focus sub-areas included in thefocus area. The focus area usually corresponds to an area where clearimaging is desired, and the whole or a part of the preview image may bedetermined as the focus area according to the preview image of theobject. For example, the focus area may be determined according toinformation selected by a user in the preview image, or the focus areamay be determined according to an image analysis result of the previewimage. For example, it is determined that a recognized human head areais determined as the focus area (as shown in FIG. 3), and theimplementation manner is flexible. After the focus area is determined,the imaging area corresponding to the focus area may be determined inthe imaging plane of the image sensor according to the focus area, thatis, the at least two imaging sub-areas, where each of the imagingsub-areas corresponds to a focus sub-area in the focus area. A mainobjective of adjusting the focusing state is usually to adjust the depthposition of the imaging area corresponding to the focus area on theimage sensor, so that the imaging area approaches or coincides with thetarget in focus depth position to the maximum extent, so that a part ofan image that is actually taken corresponding to the focus area is theclear image. Therefore, this solution determines the at least twoimaging sub-areas according to the focus area, and determines and/oradjusts, according to the first relative position relationship in thedepth direction of the at least two imaging sub-areas and the contrastdata of the sampling image, the focusing state of the image sensor, soas to acquire the image in which the part corresponding to the focusarea is clear.

Optionally, a quantity of the imaging sub-areas may be determinedaccording to content of the focus area. In this solution, the imagingarea of the image sensor corresponding to the focus area is divided intoa plurality of the imaging sub-areas, and the first relative positionrelationship of the depth positions in a staggered arrangement of thedifferent imaging sub-areas is formed in the depth direction. In thisway, the whole depth scope corresponding to the imaging area or a depthsub-scope of any two imaging sub-areas in the imaging area is taken as ameasurement reference unit for determining and/or adjusting the focusingstate of the image sensor, thereby improving the speed and/or accuracyfor determining and/or adjusting of the focusing state, and helping todecide, according to the quantity of the reasonable imaging sub-areasdetermined by the content of the focus area, a focusing solution in anaimed manner, and reduce complexity of the solution as much as possible.For example, the quantity of the imaging sub-areas corresponding to thefocus area whose content has more details is greater than the quantityof the imaging sub-areas corresponding to the focus area whose contenthas fewer details. A degree of details of the content may be but is notlimited to being reflected by a change of a grey scale in a grey-scalemap in the focus area. If the grey scale in the grey-scale map of thefocus area varies a lot, it indicates that the degree of details of thecontent of the focus area is great. Otherwise, if the grey scale in thegrey-scale map of the focus area even varies little, it indicates thatthe content of the focus area is simple, and the degree of details issmall. According to the different detail degrees of content of the focusarea, the quantity of the imaging areas corresponding to the focus areais determined in an aimed manner, thereby providing more usefulreference information for determining and/or adjusting the focusingstate of the image sensor, and further improving the speed and/oraccuracy for adjusting the focusing state.

FIG. 4a to FIG. 4d are taken as an example for further description. Itis assumed that the degree of details of the content of the focus areais very great, a plurality of the imaging sub-areas may be determined,and the deformation of the image sensor may be controlled to make theimaging sub-areas form the first relative position relationship in astaggered arrangement in the depth direction. The surface shape of theimage sensor after the deformation is as shown in FIG. 4a . If thechange trend of the contrast data of the imaging sub-areas presents acase as shown in FIG. 4b , that is, the first unidirectional changetrend matching the first relative position relationship of the imagingsub-areas in the depth direction, it may be determined that the targetin focus depth position is at a depth position behind a maximum depthscope of the imaging sub-areas. If the change trend of the contrast dataof the imaging sub-areas presents a case as shown in FIG. 4c , that is,the second unidirectional change trend opposite to the first relativeposition relationship of the imaging sub-areas in the depth direction,it may be determined that the target in focus depth position is at adepth position in front of the maximum depth scope of the imagingsub-areas. If the change trend of the contrast data of the imagingsub-areas presents a case as shown in FIG. 4d , that is, thenon-unidirectional change trend of the imaging sub-areas along the depthdirection, it may be determined that the target in focus depth positionis at a depth location between the maximum depth scopes of the imagingsub-areas. Because the imaging sub-areas are divided more precisely, thedepth sub-scope and the contrast data of any two imaging sub-areas inthe imaging sub-areas may be fully used to determine and/or adjust thefocusing state of the image sensor. For example, the focusingparameters, such as the adjusting step of the focusing state, may alsobe determined by referring to the depth sub-scope of any two imagingsub-areas, thereby further improving the speed and/or accuracy fordetermining and/or adjusting the focus.

A person skilled in the art may understand that in any one of theforegoing methods of the specific implementation manners of the presentapplication, the value of the serial number of each step does not meanan execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each step should bedetermined according to the function and internal logic thereof, andshould not be any limitation on the implementation procedure of thespecific implementation manners of the present application.

FIG. 5 is a logic block diagram of a focusing apparatus provided by anembodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, a focusingapparatus provided by the embodiment of the present applicationincludes: a deformation control module 51, a contrast data acquiringmodule 52 and a processing module 53.

The deformation control module 51 is configured to control deformationof an image sensor so that reference points of at least two imagingsub-areas of the image sensor after the deformation form a firstrelative position relationship in a staggered arrangement along a depthdirection.

The contrast data acquiring module 52 is configured to acquire contrastdata of a sampling image formed by an object in the at least two imagingsub-areas. The processing module 53 is configured to determine and/oradjust, according to at least the first relative position relationshipand the contrast data, a focusing state of the image sensor.

The technical solution provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication makes full use of the deformable property of the imagesensor, and controls deformation of the image sensor to make thereference points of the at least two imaging sub-areas to form the firstrelative position relationship in a staggered arrangement along thedepth direction. The first relative position relationship and thecontrast data of the sampling image separately formed in the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas are used as a basis for determining and/oradjusting the focusing state of the image sensor, that is, a changetrend of the contrast data of the at least two imaging sub-areasacquired by the photographing device at a focus depth along the depthdirection may be determined. According to the change trend, an accuracyfor determining the focusing state of the image sensor may be improved,and/or, according to the change trend, determination of focusingparameters, such as an adjusting direction and an adjusting step of thefocusing state of the image sensor, may be improved, so that a speedand/or accuracy for adjusting the focusing state of the image sensor maybe improved. By adopting the technical solution provided by theembodiment of the present application, times for adjusting the focusingstate needed by an adjustment process of the focusing state may bereduced, and/or the in focus depth position after the adjustment may becloser to or coincide with the target in focus depth position. Inaddition, an axis direction of the image sensor in the embodiment of thepresent application does not change, and keeps perpendicular to thedepth direction. The deformation of a surface shape of the image sensoris recoverable, and deformation recover control is easy and convenient,and does not need complicated steps, so that the imaging plane of theimage sensor may recover to an original shape, which is beneficial toimaging control and image acquisition of an object after the focusingstate is adjusted.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 6, the processing module 53 includes: aposition information determining sub-module 531 and a processingsub-module 532. The position information determining sub-module 531 isconfigured to determine, according to at least the first relativeposition relationship and the contrast data, second relative positioninformation, which is in the depth direction, of depth scopes thatcorrespond to the at least two imaging areas relative to a target infocus depth position that corresponds to the object. The processingsub-module 532 is configured to determine and/or adjust, according to atleast the second relative position information, the focusing state ofthe image sensor. The solution takes the depth scopes corresponding tothe at least two imaging sub-areas as an integral whole, which iscombined with the contrast data of the sampling images corresponding tothe at least two imaging sub-areas, for example, combined with a changetrend of the contrast data of the respective sampling images of the atleast two imaging sub-areas, so as to determine and/or adjust thefocusing state of the image sensor, thereby improving the speed andaccuracy for determining and/or adjusting the focusing state of theimage sensor.

Optionally, the position information determining sub-module 531includes: a first position information determining unit 5311. The firstposition information determining unit 5311 is configured to determine,in response to that the contrast data corresponding to the at least twoimaging sub-areas presents a unidirectional change trend, that thetarget in focus depth position is out of depth scopes corresponding tothe at least two imaging sub-areas. In the solution, according to thatthe contrast data corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areaspresents the unidirectional change trend, the change trend of thecontrast data of the sampling images of the other imaging sub-areas withthe change of the depth may be known. For example, the change trenddecreases with the increase of the depth, or the change trend increaseswith the increase of the depth. Therefore, it is determined that thetarget in focus depth position is not in the depth scopes correspondingto the at least two imaging sub-areas, but is out of the depth scopes.If the adjustment of the focusing state of the image sensor needs to beimplemented, the adjustment direction may be determined, and the depthscope may be taken as a setting basis of the focus parameters, such asthe adjusting step, thereby improving the speed and/or accuracy foradjusting the focusing state.

Optionally, the first position information determining unit 5311includes: a first position information determining sub-unit 53111. Thefirst position information determining sub-unit 53111 is configured todetermine, in response to that the contrast data corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas presents a first unidirectional change trendmatching with the first relative position relationship, that the targetin focus depth position is at a depth position behind the depth scopescorresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas. This solution mayimprove the accuracy for determining the relative position of the targetin focus depth position, thereby helping to improve the speed and/oraccuracy for determining and/or adjusting the focusing state of theimage sensor.

Optionally, the first position information determining unit 5311includes: a second position information determining sub-unit 53112. Thesecond position information determining sub-unit 53112 is configured todetermine, in response to that the contrast data corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas presents a second unidirectional changetrend opposite to the first relative position relationship, that thetarget in focus depth position is at a depth position in front of thedepth scopes corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas. Thissolution may improve the accuracy for determining the relative positionof the target in focus depth position, thereby helping to improve thespeed and/or accuracy for determining and/or adjusting the focusingstate of the image sensor.

Optionally, the position information determining sub-module 531includes: a second position information determining unit 5312. Thesecond position information determining unit 5312 is configured todetermine, in response to that the contrast data corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas presents a non-unidirectional change trend,that the target in focus depth position is between the depth scopescorresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas. This solution mayimprove the accuracy for determining the relative position of the targetin focus depth position, thereby helping to improve the speed and/oraccuracy for determining and/or adjusting the focusing state of theimage sensor.

Optionally, the processing sub-module 532 includes: a focus adjustingunit 5321. The focus adjusting unit 5321 is configured to adjust,according to at least the second relative position information, focusingparameters of a photographing device including the image sensor so thatan imaging plane position of the image sensor approaches to or coincideswith the target in focus depth position after the focusing parametersare adjusted. This solution implements the adjustment of the focusingstate in combination with the second relative position information tomake the adjustment of the focusing state more targeted and directional,and even if in an initial adjustment phase of an adjustment process ofthe focusing state, a blindly tentative adjustment is also be avoided,thereby improving the speed and/or accuracy for determining and/oradjusting the focusing state.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 7, the focusing apparatus further includes:a deformation degree determining module 54. The deformation degreecontrol module 54 is configured to determine a deformation degree of theimage sensor, where maximum deformation along the depth direction of theat least two imaging sub-areas corresponding to an initial adjustmentphase of an adjustment process of the focusing state is greater than themaximum deformation along the depth direction of the at least twoimaging sub-areas corresponding to other phases of the adjustmentprocess of the focusing state. This solution helps to improveconvergence efficiency, and implement more quickly and more accuratelyto determine and/or adjust the focusing state.

Optionally, since the initial adjustment phase of the adjustment processof the focusing state to a convergence phase, the maximum deformationalong the depth direction of the at least two imaging sub-areascorresponding to the phases progressively decreases in sequence. Thissolution helps to further improve the convergence efficiency, andimplement more quickly and more accurately to determine and/or adjustthe focusing state.

Optionally, the imaging control apparatus further includes: a focus areadetermining module 55 and an imaging sub-area determining module 56. Thefocus area determining module 55 is configured to determine, accordingto a preview image of the object, the focus area; and the imagingsub-area determining module 56 is configured to determine, according tothe focus area, the at least two imaging sub-areas, where the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas respectively corresponds to the at least two focussub-areas included in the focus area. This solution determines the atleast two imaging sub-areas according to the focus area, and implementsto determine and/or adjust the focusing state of the image sensoraccording to the first relative position relationship of the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas in the depth direction and the contrast data ofthe sampling image, so as to help acquiring the image of the clearimaging of the focus area.

Optionally, the imaging sub-areas determining module 56 includes: animaging sub-area determining module 561. The imaging sub-areadetermining sub-module 561 is configured to determine, accordingcontents of the focus area, a quantity of the imaging sub-areas. Thissolution may determine, according to the contents of the focus area, thequantity of the reasonable imaging sub-areas, which helps to pointedlyadopt a focus solution, and reduce complexity of the solution as much aspossible.

Optionally, the quantity of the imaging sub-areas corresponding to thefocus area whose content has more details is greater than the quantityof the imaging sub-areas corresponding to the focus area whose contenthas fewer details. According to different detail degrees of content ofthe focus area, the quantity of the imaging sub-areas corresponding tothe focus area is determined in an aimed manner, thereby providing moreuseful reference information for determining and/or adjusting thefocusing state of the image sensor, and further improving the speedand/or accuracy for adjusting the focusing state.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a third imaging controlapparatus (or called focusing apparatus) provided by an embodiment ofthe present application. The specific implementation manner of theimaging control apparatus 800 is not limited in specific embodiments ofthe present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the focusing apparatus 800may include:

A processor 810, a communications interface 820, a memory 830, and acommunications bus 840; where:

the processor 810, the communications interface 820 and the memory 830implement mutual communication by the communications bus 840.

The communications interface 820 is configured to communicate with, forexample, a deformable image sensor.

The processor 810 is configured to execute a program 832, specifically,to execute relative steps in any one of the foregoing methodembodiments.

For example, the program 832 may include program code, where the programcode includes computer operation instructions.

The processor 810 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or may be configured asone or more integrated circuits for implementing the embodiments of thepresent application.

The memory 830 is configured to store the program 832. The memory 830may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), and may further include anon-volatile memory, for example, at least one magnetic disk storage.

For example, in an optional implementation manner, the processor 810 mayimplement the following steps by implementing the program 832:controlling deformation of an image sensor so that reference points ofat least two imaging sub-areas of the image sensor after the deformationform a first relative position relationship in a staggered arrangementalong a depth direction; acquiring contrast data of a sampling image ofan object in the at least two imaging sub-areas; and determining and/oradjusting, at least according to the first relative positionrelationship and the contrast data, the focusing state of the imagesensor.

In other optional implementation manners, the processor 810 may furtherimplement the steps described in any one of the foregoing embodiments byexecuting the program 832, which is not described in detail herein.

For specific implementation of the steps in the program 832, referencemay be made to the corresponding description in the corresponding steps,modules, sub-modules, and units in the foregoing embodiments, which isnot described herein again. Persons skilled in the art may clearlyunderstand that, for a convenient and concise description, the specificworking process of the devices and the modules described above may referto a corresponding process description in the foregoing methodembodiments, which is not described herein again.

FIG. 9 is a logic block diagram of a photographing device provided bythe embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, thephotographing device provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication includes: a photographing optical system 91, a deformableimage sensor 92 and any one of the focusing apparatuses 93 provided bythe embodiment of the present application.

A surface shape of the image sensor may be deformable, for example, maybe the image sensor having at least a part of the surface shape of theimaging plane that may change, and a specific structure and a form ofcomponents of the image sensor are not limited. For example, the imagesensor includes a flexible image sensor, and as shown in FIG. 1b , theflexible image sensor may be bent to some extent by an external force.And/or, for example, the image sensor includes the multiple imagingsub-areas in an array distribution, and the at least two imagingsub-areas are mutually linked by a deformable connection component, asshown in FIG. 1c , and the deformable connection component may includebut is not limited to a flexible component or a controlled deformablematerial division, where the controlled deformable material division mayinclude but is not limited to a photo deformable material division, amagnetic deformable material division, a piezoelectric materialdivision, and the like.

The photographing optical system may include and is not limited to atleast one imaging lens. The focusing state of the image sensor may beadjusted by changing one or more of the focusing parameters, such as adepth position of the lens, a distance between the lens and the imagesensor, the depth position of the image sensor, and a focal distance ofthe lens, so that the depth position of the imaging plane of the imagesensor approaches or coincides with the target in focus position as muchas possible.

The structure, working mechanism, focusing method, technical effect thatcan be achieved and mechanism analysis of the focusing apparatus may allrefer to the description in other parts of the present application,which is not described herein again.

In the various embodiments of the present application, the serialnumbers and/or sequence numbers of the embodiments are merely for theconvenience of description, and do not imply the preference among theembodiments. Particular emphasis is put on the description about eachembodiment, and reference can be made to relevant description of otherembodiments for the content not detailed in an embodiment. Reference canbe made to the description about the corresponding method embodimentsfor related description about the implementation principle or process ofrelevant apparatus, device or system embodiments, which is not repeatedherein.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, units andmethod steps of the examples that are described in conjunction with theembodiments disclosed in this specification may be implemented byelectronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronichardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or softwaredepends on particular applications and design constraint conditions ofthe technical solution. A person skilled in the art may use differentmethods to implement the described functions for each particularapplication, but it should not be considered that the implementationgoes beyond the scope of the present application.

When the functions are implemented in a form of a software functionalunit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may bestored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such anunderstanding, the technical solutions of the present applicationessentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or a part of thetechnical solutions may be implemented in a form of a software product.The computer software product is stored in a storage medium andcomprises several instructions for instructing a computer device (whichmay be a personal computer, a controller, a network device, or the like)to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described in theembodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage mediumcomprises: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flashdrive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random accessmemory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

In the embodiments of the apparatus, method, and system of the presentapplication, apparently, the parts (a system, a subsystem, a module, asub-module, a unit, a subunit, and the like) or steps may be decomposedor combined, and/or decomposed first and then combined. Thesedecomposition and/or combination should be considered as equivalentsolutions of the present application. In the above descriptions of thespecific embodiments of the present application, a feature describedand/or shown for one implementation may be used in one or more of otherimplementations in the same or similar manner and combined with afeature in another implementation, or replace a feature in anotherimplementation.

It should be emphasized that, terms “comprise/include” used herein referto existence of a feature, an element, a step, or a component, but donot exclude existence or addition of one or more of other features,elements, steps, or components.

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing implementation mannersare merely used to describe the present application, but are notintended to limit the present application. A person of ordinary skill inthe art may further make various variations and modifications withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present application.Therefore, all the equivalent technical solutions also fall within thescope of the present application, and the patent protection scope of thepresent application should be subject to the claims.

1. A focusing method, comprising: controlling deformation of an imagesensor so that reference points of at least two imaging sub-areas of theimage sensor after the deformation form a first relative positionrelationship in a staggered arrangement along a depth direction;acquiring contrast data of a sampling image of an object in the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas; and determining and/or adjusting, according to atleast the first relative position relationship and the contrast data, afocusing state of the image sensor.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe determining and/or adjusting, according to at least the firstrelative position relationship and the contrast data, a focusing stateof the image sensor comprises: determining, according to at least thefirst relative position relationship and the contrast data, secondrelative position information, which is in the depth direction, depthscopes that correspond to the at least two imaging areas relative to atarget in focus depth position that corresponds to the object; anddetermining and/or adjusting, according to at least the second relativeposition information, the focusing state of the image sensor.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the determining, according to at least thefirst relative position relationship and the contrast data, secondrelative position information, which is in the depth direction, of depthscopes that correspond to the at least two imaging areas relative to atarget in focus depth position that corresponds to the object comprises:determining, in response to that the contrast data corresponding to theat least two imaging sub-areas presents a unidirectional change trend,that the target in focus depth position is out of the depth scopescorresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the determining, in response to that the contrast datacorresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas presents aunidirectional change trend, that the target in focus depth position isout of the depth scopes corresponding to the at least two imagingsub-areas comprises: determining, in response to that the contrast datacorresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas presents a firstunidirectional change trend matching the first relative positionrelationship, that the target in focus depth position is at a depthposition behind the depth scopes corresponding to the at least twoimaging sub-areas.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining, inresponse to that the contrast data corresponding to the at least twoimaging sub-areas presents a unidirectional change trend, that thetarget in focus depth position is out of the depth scopes correspondingto the at least two imaging sub-areas comprises: determining, inresponse to that the contrast data corresponding to the at least twoimaging sub-areas presents a second unidirectional change trend oppositeto the first relative position relationship, that the target in focusdepth position is at a depth position in front of the depth scopescorresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas.
 6. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the determining, according to at least the firstrelative position relationship and the contrast data, second relativeposition information, which is in the depth direction, of depth scopesthat correspond to the at least two imaging areas relative to a targetin focus depth position that corresponds to the object comprises:determining, in response to that the contrast data corresponding to theat least two imaging sub-areas presents a non-unidirectional changetrend, that the target in focus depth position is between the depthscopes corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas.
 7. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the adjusting, according to at least thesecond relative position information, the focusing state of the imagesensor comprises: adjusting, according to at least the second relativeposition information, focusing parameters of a photographing devicecomprising the image sensor so that an imaging plane position of theimage sensor approaches or coincides with the target in focus depthposition after the focusing parameters are adjusted.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein before the controlling deformation of the image sensor,the method further comprises: determining a deformation degree of theimage sensor, wherein maximum deformation along the depth direction ofthe at least two imaging sub-areas corresponding to an initialadjustment phase of an adjustment process of the focusing state isgreater than the maximum deformation along the depth direction of the atleast two imaging sub-areas corresponding to other phases of theadjustment process of the focusing state.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein from the initial adjustment phase of the adjustment process ofthe focusing state to a convergence phase, the maximum deformation alongthe depth direction of the at least two imaging sub-areas correspondingto the phases progressively decreases in sequence.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein before the controlling deformation of the image sensor,the method further comprises: determining, according to a preview imageof the object, a focus area; and determining, according the focus area,the at least two imaging sub-areas, wherein the at least two imagingsub-areas respectively correspond to at least two focus sub-areascomprised in the focus area.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thedetermining, according to the focus area, the at least two imagingsub-areas comprises: determining, according to content of the focusarea, a quantity of the imaging sub-areas.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the quantity of the imaging sub-areas corresponding to the focusarea whose content has more details is greater than the quantity of theimaging sub-areas corresponding to the focus area whose content hasfewer details.
 13. A focusing apparatus, comprising: a deformationcontrol module, configured to control deformation of an image sensor sothat reference points of at least two imaging sub-areas of the imagesensor after deformation form a first relative position relationship ina staggered arrangement along a depth direction; a contrast dataacquiring module, configured to acquire contrast data of a samplingimage of an object in the at least two imaging sub-areas; and aprocessing module, configured to determine and/or adjust, according toat least the first relative position relationship and the contrast data,a focusing state of the image sensor.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein the processing module comprises: a position informationdetermining sub-module, configured to determine, according to at leastthe first relative position relationship and the contrast data, secondrelative position information, which is in the depth direction, of depthscopes that correspond to the at least two imaging areas relative to atarget in focus depth position that corresponds to the object; and aprocessing sub-module, configured to determine and/or adjust, accordingto at least the second relative position information, the focusing stateof the image sensor.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the positioninformation determining sub-module comprises: a first positioninformation determining unit, configured to determine, in response tothat the contrast data corresponding to the at least two imagingsub-areas presents a unidirectional change trend, that the target infocus depth position is out of the depth scopes corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein thefirst position information determining unit comprises: a first positioninformation determining sub-unit, configured to determine, in responseto that the contrast data corresponding to the at least two imagingsub-areas presents a first unidirectional change trend matching thefirst relative position relationship, that the target in focus depthposition is at a depth position behind the depth scopes corresponding tothe at least two imaging sub-areas.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the first position information determining unit comprises: asecond position information determining sub-unit, configured todetermine, in response to that the contrast data corresponding to the atleast two imaging sub-areas presents a second unidirectional changetrend opposite to the first relative position relationship, that thetarget in focus depth position is at a depth position in front of thedepth scopes corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areas. 18.The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the position informationdetermining sub-module comprises: a second position informationdetermining unit, configured to determine, in response to that thecontrast data corresponding to the at least two imaging sub-areaspresents a non-unidirectional change trend, that the target in focusdepth position is between the depth scopes corresponding to the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas.
 19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein theprocessing sub-module comprises: a focus adjusting unit, configured toadjust, according to at least the second relative position information,focusing parameters of a photographing device comprising the imagesensor so that an imaging plane position of the image sensor approachesor coincides with the target in focus depth position after the focusingparameters are adjusted.
 20. The apparatus of claim 14, furthercomprising: a deformation degree control module, configured to determinea deformation degree of the image sensor, wherein maximum deformationalong the depth direction of the at least two imaging sub-areascorresponding to an initial adjustment phase of an adjustment process ofthe focusing state is greater than the maximum deformation along thedepth direction of the at least two imaging sub-areas corresponding toother phases of the adjustment process of the focusing state.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein from the initial adjustment phase of theadjustment process of the focusing state to a convergence phase, themaximum deformation along the depth direction of the at least twoimaging sub-areas corresponding to the phases progressively decreases insequence.
 22. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: a focusarea determining module, configured to determine, according to a previewimage of the object, a focus area; and an imaging sub-area determiningmodule, configured to determine, according the focus area, the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas, wherein the at least two imaging sub-areasrespectively correspond to at least two focus sub-areas comprised in thefocus area.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the imaging sub-areadetermining module comprises: an imaging sub-area determiningsub-module, configured to determine, according content of the focusarea, a quantity of the imaging sub-areas.
 24. The apparatus of claim23, wherein the quantity of the imaging sub-areas corresponding to thefocus area whose content has more details is greater than the quantityof the imaging sub-areas corresponding to the focus area whose contenthas fewer details.
 25. A photographing device, comprising: aphotographing optical system, a deformable image sensor, and a focusingapparatus according to claim
 13. 26. The photographing device of claim25, wherein the image sensor comprises a flexible image sensor.
 27. Thephotographing device of claim 25, wherein the image sensor comprisesmultiple imaging sub-areas in an array distribution, and the at leasttwo imaging sub-areas is connected by a deformable connection component.28. A computer readable storage apparatus, comprising at least oneexecutable instruction, which, in response to execution by a processorof a photographing device, causes the photographing device to perform afocusing method, comprising: controlling deformation of an image sensorso that reference points of at least two imaging sub-areas of the imagesensor after the deformation form a first relative position relationshipin a staggered arrangement along a depth direction; acquiring contrastdata of a sampling image of an object in the at least two imagingsub-areas; and determining and/or adjusting, according to at least thefirst relative position relationship and the contrast data, a focusingstate of the image sensor.
 29. A focusing apparatus, characterized bycomprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing computerexecutable instructions, the processor being connected to the memorythrough a communication bus, and when the apparatus for controlling taskmigration operates, the processor executing the computer executableinstructions stored in the memory, causing the apparatus for controllingtask migration to execute operations, comprising: controllingdeformation of an image sensor so that reference points of at least twoimaging sub-areas of the image sensor after the deformation form a firstrelative position relationship in a staggered arrangement along a depthdirection; acquiring contrast data of a sampling image of an object inthe at least two imaging sub-areas; and determining and/or adjusting,according to at least the first relative position relationship and thecontrast data, a focusing state of the image sensor.